Sadde breaking 4 yr old

Question
QUESTION: I have a 4 yr old who was just gelded a month ago he spent all his life in a pasture until then he was taken to a "traing facility"? to be saddle broke he was there 1 month then brought to me he cannot even be halter led and is afraid of everything. I spend 2 hrs everyday workin on halter lead and contact with him face ears hands moving around his head is this where I should start

ANSWER: Hi Peggy,
First of all, Why did the horse have to wait until 4 y/o to be gelded??
Next....He was sent to  "training facility" to be "saddle broke"?? Did they not start this horse? Starting a horse includes halter training, leading, backing, ground manners, trailer loading, standing tied calmly, yielding it's hind, ie, all the BASIC things a horse should know. Including the basics of being ridden. Such as go walk, trot, canter, turn left, right and back. He shouldn't be perfect at it, but at least know the basics. And this normally takes more than 1 month.
OK... you have your horse now. If your horse is shy at the head, before you can even think about putting on a halter without problem, you have to first address the issue of him not wanting your hands around his head. Think about this for a moment. "If you can't touch the AIR around his head.....how do you expect to be able to rub your hand or halter ON his head or ears?"
Here is what I suggest. First get a halter and lead on him.
Then, just hold the lead and move your hand smoothly around his head without touching him. Keep doing it until he stands still (feet quit moving) and he relaxes (or if you can do this for more than 15 seconds without him moving). Don't worry about touching him at this point. Keep one hand on the lead during this exercise. Once he will tolerate you moving your hand around his face without touching him, you can then move to the next step. Next, rub him on the neck and withers. Don't pat him...RUB him. As you are rubbing him, start moving your hand up towards his ears. Don't go directly for his ears. Just move your hand from his poll, over his ears, to his face, quickly running over his ears with your hand. Don't linger at his ears. What you are doing is, rubbing from his neck to his face. You just happen to "accidently" run your hand across his ears. Don't make a big deal of it. Just act like you didn't mean to touch those spots. he should start to becoming accustomed to you touching his neck, poll, ears and face. Don't get frustrated or discouraged. Keep chipping away at it. Working with horse is not about getting "something done right now..it's about the little things you can do".
Now let's talk about "leading".
Once you have the halter an lead on him and he will accept your hands touching him, you can move to leading.
Leading sounds so simple. "Just follow me". Not so.
Take your lead rope, holding it about two feet from the halter. Don't turn to look at the horse. Just walk forward. If he should not move with you, walk off at and angle. Once his feet begin to move then walk a straight line. There is no way you will be able to force this horse to walk with you in a straight line if he doesn't wish to. So, what you are doing is putting him off balance so he is forced to move his feet to stay balanced. This is the start. Keep chipping away at it. You will find that he will start to walk with you on lead.
Keep working with your horse and you should start to see some results.
Keep safe and enjoy your horse.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you for your response to my first question, owner neglect is the reason he waited to be gelded, and no they did no ground work with him so I am basically starting all over again I have now gottenhim to let me rub him all over including his ars we are currently doing halter work daily.  have to a point lost faith in my horse knowledge he causes me to question myself and I know he senses that. I hav not ever dealt with  horse starte d this lateand s wrong I tink I needed the encourgement Iwas doin the rigt thing and startin with groundwork Thank you. People like the facility he wasd at give horse trainers a bad rap and should be stoped!!!

Answer
Hi Peggy,
I completely understand your situation. And I commend you on take on the challenge of trying to start this horse. Don't worry about questioning your knowledge of training. Even the best of trainers question themselves sometimes and seek help. If a trainer tells you they don't....they "ain't tellin' the truth" or their ego is going to get them in trouble one day.
Just keep working with your horse. Make sure you can rub your horse all over with both hands. You will prevail if you are patient. Don't set time tables for your horse. I haven't met a horse yet who can tell time or read a clock. It takes as long as it takes to get the job done.
Stay safe, be patient and always remember why you fell in love with horses to begin with.